Lisa pulled a cigarette from the pack, slipped it between her lips, and lit it.

"It was really weird for me too when I first experienced it," she said as she exhaled, smoke filling the room. "No matter how hard I tried to convince them, they refused to believe they were missing for a whole day."

She moved to sit on the bed, not far from him. With the towel and the cigarette she looked like an entirely different person.

"I showed them dates on their phones, screenshots—everything. They still argued that I was the one who had lost time. It's like their minds were wiped clean of whatever happened that day. And it's the same for every girl I've ever… taken to them."

"Why are you doing it?" Yohan asked quietly.

She stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"At first, I honestly didn't know. He approached me and asked if I could help him get girls. All I had to do was invite them out for him and his friends, and he'd pay me."

"He chose me because I'm practically friends with every girl in class and I'm… somewhat popular, so it's easy for them to trust me. When he asked, I took it as a compliment. I thought it was just some rich-boy thing, and I wouldn't say no to some extra cash either."

"So I invited my roommate and a few of her friends out. I didn't go—I set it up as a blind date. Then the girls went missing for an extra day before reappearing. When I questioned my roommate, she said nothing had happened. At first, I believed her. I thought she was just confused from partying too hard."

Her fingers tightened around the cigarette.

"But then I noticed the bruises on her body. My suspicions grew. So the next time he came to me, I went along with them."

Her voice dropped.

"In the middle of everything, he pulled me aside. When we came back, my friends were all passed out. Then the chairman showed up and took them away."

"I tried to stop them, but I suddenly felt weak… and then I blacked out. The next morning, he told me not to bother going to the cops—that I wouldn't be able to prove anything."

"So you didn't?" Yohan asked.

"Of course I did. I ran to the police the moment I was able to leave. But before I could reach the station, a man from the entertainment company stopped me. He offered me even more money than Freddie did, and threatened to kill my mother if I refused."

Her hand trembled slightly.

"I was scared. So I took the money and tried my best not to think about it anymore."

"So your excuse for knowingly leading girls— girls who think you're their friend— into danger… is that you were afraid?" Yohan asked.

"Isn't that reason enough?"

"You never even made it to the station!" Yohan sprang to his feet.

"Because he stopped me on the way!" She shot up as well, shouting back in his face.

"Then why didn't you try again?"

She laughed bitterly, "And lose their trust? Do you know what would happen the moment they start to doubt me even a little? You're not the first person who's tried to get involved, you know."

Her eyes darkened.

"I had a boyfriend once. When I told him, he wanted to play the hero."

She looked away.

"They took him, and I haven't seen him again since,"

"My mum is sick in the hospital, and I'm all she has," she added, her voice trembling. "It may come at a cost, but I need that money. I have to pay her daily bills—and save up for her surgery. If the girls don't remember anything, then isn't it basically a victimless crime?"

Yohan froze. "Is that… truly what you believe?" he asked quietly.

The question landed harder than either of them expected.

Her expression crumpled. The fight drained from her eyes, and the tears came all at once. She took a shaky step forward before suddenly breaking down completely, rushing into Yohan's arms as sobs tore from her chest.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I…I don't know what else to do… I don't want to be a bad person… I'm just so scared… and tired…"

At that moment, Yohan could finally see how deeply everything had affected her. No matter what she had done, she was still just a broken, terrified girl trapped in an impossible situation.

He slipped an arm around her, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

"It's okay, Lisa… we'll figure something out."

To think Freddie was actually behind something like this. What could a rich bastard like him possibly gain from doing such despicable things?

Well there was only one way he would find out and that would be to force it out of him.

"Lisa…" He gently moved his hands to her shoulders and eased her back so he could look at her. "Let's put an end to this."

"H-How?" she stammered.

"I don't know yet. But with your help, I'll think of something."

Her face went pale.

"Yohan, the easiest way to stay alive is not getting involved with people like them. They might already be coming for you after what happened with Freddie this morning."

"Don't worry about me, I can handle myself," Yohan replied casually.

"You don't understand, these guys are very dangerous,"

"And so am I," Yohan had no doubt in his eyes, "Just tell me every single detail you know,"

"I don't really know much," she replied with a sniffle, "Only what I already told you,"

"Then what about these executives, do you have any information about them?"

She shook her head, "They never come in person, only the chairman… I doubt even Freddie know exactly who they are,"

"So they keep their identity hidden," he clicked his tongue slightly frustrated.

To properly take them down, he needed to know who exactly was at the top. That way he can be sure to be rid of them for good.

"We'll just have to figure that out," he decided.

"Yohan," Lisa called softly, "I really want to help you… but I can't. I can't do anything that would put me or my mother in danger."

"I understand," Yohan said. She was too scared to act against them, and he couldn't blame her.

"But you don't have to help me directly," he continued. "You just need to help me find out who is really behind all of this. Freddie is just at the bottom of the ladder. If we find the one in charge, it'll be easier to put an end to everything."

"O-Okay…" she hesitated. "But what if they find out? They—"

"You don't have to worry about that," he cut in gently. "I'll make sure you're safe. Trust me."

She nodded slowly, but fear still lingered in her eyes.

'But how exactly am I supposed to figure that out?' he wondered.

The only connection between Freddie and the executives was the chairman. So what… kidnap him and beat the answers out of him?

No. That was reckless. It would take too long, and the man could easily lie. And there was no guarantee he could even pull off an abduction in the first place.

The only other option was to make the chairman take him to them willingly.

That plan made far more sense.

But it came with one problem—

After his altercation with Freddie, there was no chance he'd ever be invited to one of their parties again.

'Maybe I could send someone else, like Jenna' he reasoned. It was a simple solution because, all he really needed to know was where the girls were being taken. The executives would definitely be waiting at that location.

"Lisa, when Freddie asks you to bring more girls… I want you to tell me."

"O-Okay," she nodded. "I will."

"Good. See you later."

With that, he finally left her room.

Now that he had the full story, the puzzle was beginning to take shape—but one piece still made absolutely no sense.

'How are they making the girls completely forget?'

Was it really just a drug?

Or something else entirely?

The question clung to his mind as he stepped out of the building. Even on the walk back to his lodge, he couldn't shake the feeling crawling up his spine.

'I have a bad feeling about this…'

That night, in his room, Yohan told Jenna everything he had learned.

"I see… so that's what's been going on," she said casually—but he could tell there was far more behind her calm expression.

"It's worse than I thought," she added, her brows drawing together.

"We need to find everyone involved," she said firmly as she lifted her head.

"I know," Yohan replied. "I'm already working on that… I'm planning on sending someone to infiltrate one of their private parties and lead us right to their bosses,"

"Oh," she raised her hand to her chin, "That's actually not a bad plan, do you have anyone in mind?"

"I was actually thinking you could do it,"

Jenna sighed and shook her head, "Have you forgotten that I already met with Freddie before?"

"Shit… That's true" he muttered. He went silent for a few seconds, then exhaled slowly. "In that case, I'll have to find someone else."

At that moment the only person that came to his mind was Chloe. She was in the same class as Lisa so it wouldn't even look suspicious for Freddie.

But that would mean involving her in all this mess,

'if she's even interested in helping…'

It was a long reach but he couldn't think of any other person he could trust.

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